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That moment I found out I'd been stripping coax wrong for years
I've been in this trade for about 8 years now. Last Tuesday I was on a job in Salem and an older installer watched me strip a cable with my coring tool. He just shook his head and showed me I was putting way too much pressure on the dielectric. I'd been nicking the center conductor on probably 1 out of 4 fittings without even noticing. Has anyone else had someone point out a basic habit you never questioned?
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patriciareed1mo ago
Watch that coring tool angle like it's the only thing that matters. I had a foreman show me the same trick about 8 years in and it saved me a ton of callbacks. Go slow on the pressure and let the tool do the work, especially on those smaller gauge cables. Once you get the feel for it you'll never go back to that heavy hand stuff.
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casey_harris1mo ago
Honestly, I gotta push back a little here @patriciareed. I used to be all about that angle game too until I started getting weird jacket tears on some tougher insulation. I figure it's more about finding the sweet spot where the cutter bites into the copper without digging in too deep. If you angle it too much on the smaller stuff like 14 or 16 gauge you can nick the conductor and then you're basically making a weak point for no reason. Tbh I've had better luck keeping it almost flat and letting the tool's own weight do the cutting, especially on these newer cables that seem to have thicker jackets. I'm not saying your way is wrong, just that I've seen it backfire on some installs.
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samjohnson1mo agoTop Commenter
Back when I was doing a bunch of retrofits on a commercial building last fall, I would have agreed with Patricia all the way on that angle trick. But reading your post makes me think I probably caused some nicks on 14 gauge that I never even noticed until later. I started using a lighter touch after a few stripped screws, and it really does help with those thicker jackets. You made me realize I might have been overthinking the angle this whole time.
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